• 383 works from 238 cities in 38 countries have been nominated by 76 independent experts, the national architecture associations and the Prize Advisory Committee.

• 3 new countries were invited to participate to the Prize, after joining the EC Creative Europe programme: Armenia, Kosovo and Tunisia. Kosovo is competing for the first time with 3 works in Pristina.

• The Jury will be formed by Dorte Mandrup (Chairwoman), George Arbid, Angelika Fitz, Ștefan Ghenciulescu, Kamiel Klaasse, María Langarita and Frank McDonald.

• The map that draws European Contemporary Architecture can be consulted at www.EUMiesAward.com or using the EUMiesAward app.

Barcelona, 11th of December 2018
The European Commission and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe announce today the list of 383 works competing for the 2019 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award.

The 383 works draw the present picture of contemporary architecture in Europe. After the challenges of Housing and Heritage in Europe highlighted by the 2017 Jury and Winners and the exciting debates that have taken place during these two years, the new cycle of the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award will reflect on the next challenges of architecture, which architects, clients, policy makers and other professionals are faced with.

“The 2019 nominees highlight metropolitan areas as the location of most of the works, but the map also reveals the generation of axes such as the Dublin-Brussels-Ljubljana-Tirana one, where 100 milion Europeans live and a third of the total number of nominated works have been built.”

Ivan Blasi
Coordinator of the Prize

“The European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018 has brought cultural heritage to the fore in relevant EU policies and among citizens. The results of the previous Prize highlighted the importance of contemporary architecture within our historic heritage, which is also visible in this year’s nominations since 24% of the works intervene on heritage and another 14% are built in historical
contexts. The Prize will thus continue to support the dialogue between contemporary architecture and built heritage in a stimulating and innovative way.”

Michel Magnier
Director for Culture and Creativity
DG Education and Culture, European Commission

“Kleiburg was an ‘out-of-the-box’ approach to deal with the issue of accessibility and affordability of housing in the specific local context of Amsterdam, using an iconic but at the same time very ’common’ building. This issue is relevant all over Europe. It is a great honor that because of the
Award, our project has become an inspiration for many to look for new solutions to these issues in their local context.”

Xander Vermeulen Windsant
XVW architectuur
EU Mies Award 2017 Winner

The EU Mies Award 2019. Facts and figures

Buildings related to culture continue forming the biggest group of works with 15% of the total (4% less than in 2017), followed by mixed-use buildings with 14% (2,5% more than in 2017). These two groups are followed by collective and single housing and education facilities, which represent 10% each.
Collective housing has increased 2%, a substantial increase with regard to the previous cycles of the Prize. 9% of the works are transnational works in which architects from one country have built in another one, usually teaming up with local partners. This represents a low decrease from 2017 (1% less) but
the figure has been pretty constant since 2009, with 35-40 cross-border works. 12% of the works have been built in large metropolitan areas with more than 3 million inhabitants. This includes cities such as Budapest, Warsaw, Kiev, Athens, Milan, Barcelona, Berlin, Madrid, Paris and London. 26% of the works are in cities with a population between 500.000 and 3 milion inhabitants
and 37% of them are in towns with 20.000 to 500.000 inhabitants. The other 22% of the works are in villages with less than 20.000 inhabitants, including the Castra Rubra Winery Guest House in Kolarovo, Bulgaria, a village with 17 inhabitants which is the smallest location with a nominated work. 3% of the
works are isolated.

The geographical limits of the EUMiesAward 2019 are:
The northernmost work is the Skreda Roadside Rest Area (Norway) by Manthey Kula Arkitekter, the southernmost work is the Laniteio Lyceum (Cyprus) by Armeftis & Associates. The easternmost works are the buildings in Tbilisi and the westernmost work is the Chapel of Eternal Light (Portugal) by Bernardo Rodrigues.

From the list of 383 projects…

Calendar

• In January 2019 the Jury will shortlist 40 projects and 5 of them will be visited in April.
• The 40 shortlisted works will be announced on January 16 and the 5 Finalists on February 13.
• The finalist projects will be visited in early-April.
• The winners will be announced in mid-April.
• The EU Mies Award Architecture Days promoting visits to the shortlisted and finalist works will take place in May.
• The process will culminate with the EU Mies Award Day on May 7 at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona: opening of the exhibition, lectures and debates, presentation of the publication and Awards Ceremony.

The Jury

A demanding jury of distinguished professionals will evaluate the works in a holistic approach, from their conception and construction phases to their final use by the people. In the 2019 cycle, the jury will by formed by:

Frank McDonald
1950, journalist, Dublin
Environment Correspondent of the Irish Times from1979 to 1986 and Environment Editor from 2000 to 2015.

Background

Initiated in 1987 after an agreement between the European Parliament and the Barcelona City Council, the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award has been coorganised by the Fundació Mies van der Rohe and the European Commission since 2001.
The Prize is awarded biennially to works completed within the previous two years. The principal objectives are to achieve a thorough understanding of the transformation of Europe’s built environment; to recognize and commend excellence and innovation in the field of architecture; and to draw attention to the important contribution of European professionals in the development of new ideas with the undeniable support of clients and the involvement of those who will become the users of these places.

The Emerging Architect Winner is distinguished by a combination of qualities such as excellence and authenticity of design; a genuine and innovative character of its work; and high-standard, well executed and sustainable construction. The jury selects the winner among those applicants who have
not yet attained recognition by having a body of critically recognised work at major and established institutions or publishers.

The Fundació Mies van der Rohe was created in 1983 with the aim of reconstructing the German Pavilion that Ludwig Mies van der Rohe built for the 1929 International Exhibition in Barcelona. The foundation fosters debate on and awareness of themes related to contemporary architecture and urban
planning, as well as encouraging studies on the work of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and on the Modern Movement.

Creative Europe is the European Commission’s framework programme for support to the cultural and audiovisual sectors. The programme aims at promoting Europe’s cultural diversity and rich heritage while enabling the cultural and creative sectors to reach their economic potential, contributing to
sustainable growth, jobs and social cohesion.

Prize

The Prize Winner receives 60.000€ and a sculpture that evokes the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion of Barcelona. The Emerging Architect Winner receives 20.000€ together with the sculpture and the finalists and the clients also receive a sculpture, recognizing their essential contribution to contemporary architecture.
The Prize draws the map of the best European Contemporary Architecture with the Prize Winner, the Emerging Architect Winner and the Young Talent Architecture Award Winners. The latter is the most recent addition to the Prize, which recognizes and rewards the best graduation projects of
architecture students throughout Europe and beyond.
The prestige of the Prize and the dissemination of the knowledge and savoir-faire of European architects is further enhanced with the organisation of exhibitions and debates worldwide, bringing architecture nearer to citizens.